 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2021) |
.svg){kind=logo} | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Stamford, Connecticut |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | NBCUniversal (Comcast) |
| Parent | NBC Sports Group |
| Sister channels | NBC Universo Golf Channel NBC Sports Regional Networks Olympic Channel USA Network Syfy CNBC |
| History | |
| Launched | July 31, 1995 |
| Closed | December 31, 2021 |
| Former names | Outdoor Life Network (1995–2006) Versus (2006–2011) NBC Sports Network (2012–2013) |
NBCSN (also known as NBC Sports Network) was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming primarily involving fishing, hunting, outdoor adventure programs, and outdoor sports. By the turn of the 21st century, OLN became better known for its extensive coverage of the Tour de France but eventually began covering more "mainstream" sporting events, resulting in its relaunch as Versus in September 2006.
In 2011, Comcast, the original owner of the network, acquired a majority stake in NBCUniversal. As a result, Comcast merged the operations of its pay channels with those of NBC. In particular, it aligned the operation of its sports channels with NBC's sports division, NBC Sports. On January 1, 2012, Versus was rebranded as the NBC Sports Network. The branding was later shortened to NBCSN. By September 15, 2014, most of NBC Sports' operations, including NBCSN, had been moved to facilities in Stamford, Connecticut.
As of February 2020, NBCSN was distributed to 79.879 million homes and was the second most watched cable sports network besides ESPN (though some sources included ESPN2 as a separate network in those figures).[1] On January 22, 2021, NBCUniversal announced that the network would cease operations by the end of the year. NBCSN ceased operations on December 31, 2021, with its sports properties moved to USA Network, Peacock, and other NBCUniversal networks.[2]
- ^ Ourand, John. "FS1, NBCSN Seeing Big Dips In Home Distribution Numbers". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page).